Trump shouting out to reporters
and to adoring MAGA-hatters that he's been exonerated by Mueller is like the
fabled emperor, in all his nakedness, yelling to his people that the stories
about his clothes were all fake news. We know from the sworn testimony of
several former Trump associates and from Trump's own public statements that he
repeatedly tried to interfere with the Mueller investigation and influence
potential witnesses.

Attempted obstruction of
justice is a felony.
The Mueller report has established that Trump committed multiple felonies. Yet,
when
asked about impeachment, all that House Judiciary Committee
Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) could say
was: "Obstruction of justice, if proven, would be impeachable.... We're going
to see where the facts lead us." Mr. Nadler, you have the facts. But they can't
"lead" you where you're unwilling to go.

Speaker Pelosi just
released a letter to her fellow Democrats (April
22 )
urging caution on impeachment: "We must show the American people we are
proceeding free from passion or prejudice, strictly on the presentation of
fact." Madam Speaker, now that you have the facts, it's time for a passionate
condemnation of Trump.

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Every day that goes by
with a deranged and criminal president is a threat to the nation. Impeachment was
created by the framers of the constitution as an alternative to a coup d'e'tat
when the head of state has become a danger to the republic. Are we just going
to lie low and hope that his staff and our military leaders will disobey or
even forcibly restrain Trump the next time he orders people to do illegal or
dangerous things?

The
American presidential system magnifies the harm and embarrassment of having as
chief executive or head of government someone like Trump. In a parliamentary
system such as in Britain or Canada, the chief executive (prime minister) is
the head of the ruling party in the legislature. The Queen is the head of
state, the person who represents the nation to the rest of the world and to
itself in solemn ritual occasions.

In a parliamentary
system, the sanctity or reverence citizens attach to the nation as an entity is
embodied in the Queen. But her role is mostly symbolic and politically neutral.
By contrast, in our presidential system the chief executive (the president) is
also the head of state. He or she has the difficult task of acting out both
roles.

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The main qualities required
for a head of state are judgment, dignity and the ability to say appropriate
things on public occasions, attributes in which Queen Elizabeth excels. Presidents
Eisenhower, Bush Sr., FDR and Obama had these qualities to a high degree. Trump
is totally lacking. He is a loud mouth, an ignoramus and a bully. He insults
where he should show respect in dealing with officials of allied nations even
as he makes nice with violent authoritarians such as Saudi Arabia's crown
prince and Egypt's el Sisi. His behavior as head of state and representative of
the nation is a further reason for impeachment in addition to his criminal acts
as chief executive.

In contrast to removing a
president in our system, it's simpler and less traumatic for a chief executive
to be removed in a parliamentary system. It can be done through a vote of no
confidence by the House of Commons, of which the prime minister is a member. Or
the prime minister's own party can remove him or her by an internal vote. Both
are possibilities for Britain's Theresa May. An American impeachment proceeding
is much more of a crisis. It can seem that a political party or the House of
Representatives is attacking a separate but equal branch of government as well
as the person who symbolizes the nation.

If, as the House
leadership keeps saying, we need more facts and detail than what the redacted Mueller
report gives us, we can get it from witness testimony at an impeachment
hearing. Holding further committee hearings (often delayed by court battles
over subpoenaed documents or persons) will be just as time-consuming as proceeding
with impeachment. Trump's loud and incessant messaging will attempt to
overwhelm and trivialize future committee findings. The Mueller report will become
just one more PR problem flicked off by Trump.

The report presents a disturbing
picture of Trump's disrespect for law and due process. It's a narrative supported
by nearly two years of investigation by a team of law-enforcement professionals
headed by a Republican who was FBI director from 2001-2013. On April
10
Trump felt free to say publicly that the investigators were "dirty cops" and
"bad people." He called the investigation "an attempted coup" and a "scam." How
far will this degree of contempt take Trump unless he is stopped?

If Congress doesn't
impeach (and convict), it will create a further precedent for the increasing
disregard of the rule of law by American presidents. President Obama refused to
bring criminal charges against a number of high-level banking executives whose massive
fraud nearly collapsed the world economy in 2007-8. As a result, it is now
accepted practice to fine megabanks large sums for criminal violations, which
the banks accept as a cost of doing business.

George W. Bush created a
regime of torture in violation of American and international law. Obama refused
to prosecute those who had engaged in the torture. This created a precedent for
torture as an accepted behavior by the executive branch. As a result, Congress
approved Trump's appointment of Gina Haspel as head of the CIA. In 2002 Haspel,
known to CIA colleagues as "Bloody
Gina," was in charge of a CIA base in Thailand where Abd
al-Rahim al-Nashiri was brutally and repeatedly tortured.

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The Mueller report is a
watershed event. We can expect nothing as authoritative from any future House
committee. If Congress is going to defend the rule of law from further erosion,
it must do so now. It's their duty to impeach. Now.

I'm a retired philosophy professor at Centre College. I also am a regular columnist for The Danville Advocate-Messenger,the local paper in what was my home town (I now live in Connecticut. My last book was Posthumanity-Thinking Philosophically (more...)

"Rob Kall's writings on the "bottom-up" revolution have real potential to show people that they can hold power accountable and improve justice. A book on this subject could help to repair the economic, legal, social, and political fabric of the United States."

Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Scripps Howard News Service.